Walmart CEO Optimistic About Christmas Because Broke People Shop At Walmart

…about Walmart’s upcoming holiday season. Why? Because consumers are broke and they have to shop at Walmart or else.

“I saw great merchandise and our customers are going to love our prices,” Scott said during the conclusion of Wal-Mart’s two-day annual analyst and investor meeting in Rogers, ARK.

“I feel we are well positioned for an economic downturn,” Scott said. “Our low prices and low-cost business model should give us an advantage over other retailers if things get more difficult for consumers.”

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Everyone is getting the Hershey’s Pot ‘O Gold from K-Mart from ME this year. They’ve always got those for a good deal after Thanksgiving. Maybe I’m taking the lesser evil, but Wal-Mart gives me goosebumps.

Were there any Americans doing those jobs in the first place? Seems like most of the work in America are done by illegal immigrants to me. Americans are F-ing lazy and spoiled. I see people begging on the streets, then notice.. why aren’t there illegal immigrents begging on the streets.. Oh that’s right.. they actually work.

@BigNutty: If they were infact paying their fare of taxes I guess your right. They outsource the manufacturing, denying America the payroll taxes, get huge tax breaks in building the stores, the bury the profit in ways that taxes won’t have to be paid on them.

Remember that Enron was a poster child for this kind of crap. Held in high esteem until it all unraveled.

Biggest load of libertarian bullshit in the world. Illegal immigrants ARE the only ones willing to do those jobs at extreme poverty pay. It the general and not so good contractors we have today would pay more than slavery rates, which they would if there was no illegal immigrants there would be lines for those jobs.

@COFFEECUP: LOL, the Hot Cocoa set thing was a joke. You dont realize how crappy those are until you get one. I usually give nice gifts but it just seems silly to buy my wife gifts and her to buy me gifts when it all comes from the same pool of money.

I’m not a Walmart hater and I think what Lee Scott said is reasonable. During an economic downturn people are still going to buy things. Walmart has many of those things at a cheaper prices than their competition. People who are worried about their economic situation will naturally try to make every dollar stretch as far as possible. Your headline is overblown. Also, Christmas shopping fever is creepy.

I agree with your assessment. Though this kind of jumps tracks of the origional post, the entire argument that illegals “do work Americans won’t do” or anything similar is only because the pay for those positions won’t support an average American family. I wonder if those same people who make those arguments ever consider that if there were no illegals to do those jobs at such low rates of pay, businesses would be forced to increase pay for those jobs to livable wages and Americans will suddenly become interested in those jobs.

Years ago, I worked in a fast food restaurant with an extremely friendly young woman from Mexico. She was an illegal immigrant and lived in a house in town with like 20 others. She was a police officer in Mexico City before she jumped the border, and made more money making burgers here than she did there. The problem was, she took all the money she made and sent it back to her family in Mexico, and of course, being an illegal, she didn’t pay taxes on her income. So, she was taking money out of our economy here in the US and wasn’t putting anything back in. Last I heard, the estimate is that there are over 12 million illegals here in the US, and I’m pretty sure all of them are doing the same thing. Some of them even manage to somehow get onto welfare. Think this is a drain on our economy? You bet.

Here’s an interesting story my father passed on to me. He works with a woman who immigrated here with her husband from Switzerland. They both have college degrees, are highly-intelligent, and were well-off in their home country from their hard work. Sounds like the kind of people we want immigrating here, right? They came here legally, but it literally took years to cut through the red tape and beaurocracy and cost them thousands of dollars of their own money, to the point where she told my father they felt like the US didn’t want them and were trying to keep them out.

When they finally got here and found out that people from Mexico jump the border all the time, and then heard there was a political movement to grant these immigrants *amnesty* who broke the law and came here illegally, after all they went through to come here legally, they were infuriated. Can you even imagine how they must have felt?

Seriously, just try to cross the border illegally at virtually any other industrialized country in the world. What would happen? Your ass gets thrown in jail. Other countries take it very seriously when you don’t respect their borders. I don’t understand why some people think it’s alright for Mexico to try to anex the US.

It’s somewhat of a cyclical problem. Wal-Mart lowers the overall wages (especially in small towns where they’re the primary employer), so people have less money to spend. They shop and Wal-Mart because they have less money to spend. There are more Wal-Marts because more people are shopping there because they have less money to spend.

One of the earlier posters mentioned how illegals don’t pay taxes and are a drain on our economy. But I have to wonder, really what would happen to our economy if they ALL just suddenly were deported back home. I know someone who is in the country illegally who has a great paying job, under a false name and of course they deduct all the usual deductions from his paycheck but he can’t file income taxes like the rest of us do nor will he ever be able to receive what he has paid into Social Security. Like the rest of us the money he makes goes to pay for food and essentials for his family which he pays taxes on.

What might happen to our economy and Social Security system if the money deducted from the millions of paychecks from illegal workers just suddenly stopped?

@SkyeBlue: It’s not a bad consideration, but you’re assuming they all work on the books. I think that people arguing the opposite are imagining that there would be more tax money coming in if all the people working off the books and/or drawing welfare were suddenly on a legal payroll.

“I feel we are well positioned for an economic downturn,” Scott said. “Our low prices and low-cost business model should give us an advantage over other retailers if things get more difficult for consumers.”

Well good for you Lee. Congrats all-around.

Considering the fact that by forcing manufacturing jobs overseas by Walmart is part of what is causing the downturn,

I’m sure he is squealing with glee over this. One can only hope that maybe Mr. Scott will be visited by 3 ghosts on Christmas eve too.

And what large retailer doesn’t sell imported merchandise? Most everything I buy says made in China or made in Taiwan. Most of the people in my kids school district are foreigners. Walmart doesn’t make the rules. Nor do they decide on the minimum wage in this country. They just go with it and work with it. Write to your government if you want changes. Get involved instead of just complaining about the way things are. And leave Walmart alone. They’ve got great prices.

Are you kidding me? There’s actually people who DON’T know whats wrong with Wal-Mart!? What rock have you been hiding under? They pay their workers squat, don’t offer health insurance to most, sell lead tainted Chinese made CRAP, cheat out on taxes…the list goes on. And yes, other companies do this as well, but Wal-Mart has shown a history of blantent insensitivity to the issues that arise from customers and workers alike. The question really is whats NOT wrong with WallyWorld.

I may not have a lot of money to spend this season but it sure as hell won’t be spent at Wal-Mart. I started shopping for deals online about a month ago. And I’m also trying to buy what I can that’s not made in China.

We are pretty broke this year but we are buying American made products this year, as opposed to cheap, Chinese made crap, so no…guess we won’t be hitting walmart anytime soon. Sorry to burst your bubble there Lee.

@etinterrapax: It is sadly very hard, I dread going to the store because I spend so much time reading labels. It’s such a pain, but seems to be important. I never even set foot into walmart anymore but I am doing some research on American companies that actually make & sell their stuff over here, I should put together a list….